Hello nail addicts,

I’m Tina Caton, the proud owner of Polished Nail Lounge in Richmond, Va. I’ve been a nail tech for 18 years and working in the industry for a little over 20.

I'm part of the second generation in the nail business in my family, so I've seen so much change in the past two decades. I was so excited when I opened my very own salon, just myself without the involvement of my family. In March of 2011, Polished Nail Lounge opened its doors for the first time. My dream is to open multiple locations to serve the community. In Richmond I see lots of discount nail salons, but not many quality salons. I was so excited to open the first location of Polished. I got to decorate it the way I liked, train my staff the way I wanted, and saw my hard work pay off with all of the compliments and repeat clients. Doing nails is second nature to me -- it’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s like hanging out with your girlfriends, i.e. my clients, all day long.

But then as I was about to celebrate Polished's fist anniversary, I got a visit from my landlord asking to relocate me. I was upset, furious, pissed, you named it, I felt it all. My blessing is that my husband is a general contractor, so I accepted the deal and moved my salon five doors down the street. The experience was almost unbearable, but on August 31, after almost five months of planning and designing, Polished Nail Lounge opened again for business.I thought the day would never come. I've survived the work, the renovation, and my marriage is also intact.

I have worked with my family, building about nine salons in the past, and with so much experience from each project I thought I had it all down until this. Things are forever changing, and I want to share my own Blueprint of a First Year experience, so people can understand what is involved and what it takes coming from all angles as a nail tech, a business owner, a designer, and a mom.

My current job comes with bills, marketing, scheduling with the staff, and trying to balance a personal life with two kids, a beautiful niece, a husband, two dogs, and a fish. But I wouldn’t change anything other than trying to be a better boss and learning to use my time better. My two precious girls keep me on my nails when it comes to work. Bailey is 6 and always on YouTube looking at the nail art and wanting me to do it for her. Breana is 8 and dreams of being a model or in beauty pageant, so I always have to keep up with the latest trends. My niece is finally turned 13, so here comes trouble, well, not really, she is absolutely an angel. And my husband, who has no clue what I do at work, as he says ”You sit there all day. What do you do?”

I must admit, sometimes I’m so tired I wish I could call in sick, but hey, who could I ask for a sick day? So off to work I go. I have so much to share with you, so I predict you won’t want to miss any of my blog posts from now on. Until then, happy nails day!

— Tina, Polished Nail Lounge, Richmond, Va.